My Guardian, My Best Friend

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I didn't until it happened to me.

I've never fallen in love with a human instantly but I fell in love with a dog instantly.

I know. It sounds crazy but just listen to the story.

It was a sunny day in July in Joplin, Missouri. People in the four states area go to Joplin for shopping and having fun. I was out that day with my kids. My 10 year old son had invited another boy along. We were a carload of 4 and we had spent that Saturday at the bookstore, at the mall, at the arcade, etc. We were just having fun. We'd stopped off to get some smoothies and the boys looked across the way at the PetSmart near the furniture store. They asked me if they could stop to go in and we could check out all the little animals, like the lizards and fish and such.

I never expected that day to come home with a dog. I'm pretty conservative with my money too and usually I always ask my husband before making a big purchase.

I bought a dog on the spot. Just like that.

We were having a good time and smiling and the boys ran ahead of me in the parking lot towards the PetSmart entrance. At the entrance, some men and women were taking crates of dogs and cats out of a van that read The Carthage Humane Society. I walked up curiously to check out the cats mostly. I love how soft and beautiful cats are but I am very allergic to them. They make me sneeze something awful.

The boys were looking at the Humane Society animals too. A man and woman volunteer pulled a larger crate out of the back of the van and set it down at the entrance. There was a brown border collie pup inside the crate. He looked up dolefully at me with his big brown eyes. Our eyes connected. I felt a strong pull towards him, inexplicable really.

I kept sipping on my strawberry banana smoothie and looked him over.

"That dog there," I asked the lady nearby. She waved at me and came closer. "I like that one. What's the dog's name?"

"It's a boy. His name is... hold on, let me check the chart," she said and she went over to the little card table nearby. She scanned over some papers on a clipboard.

"His name's Slushy," she said.

"Slushy?" I repeated in a bit of shock. I turned to face her directly. "You said....you said Slushy?" I asked again for confirmation.

She nodded. "Yeah, one of the volunteers at the center said he was named after a stuffed animal toy she had as a kid in the 80s. She said it came from...hmmm, can't remember," she added with a laugh.

"It came from Avon." I interrupted. "My Grandma gave me that toy when I was little. I think I won it in a family bingo game," my voice trailed off.

"I'll take him."

"What?"

"Yeah, I'd like to buy him. I'll buy Slushy."

The volunteer smiled wide and my son and his friend looked at me with happy grins and surprised expressions. I just shrugged.

We paid 50 dollars that day for Slushy. When we opened the crate, he came straight to my son with his big brown eyes and licked my son's hands. He was real gentle and sweet.

To this day, Slushy is real gentle and sweet. My son wanted to change his name to more of a boy name so we called him Sushi. But to me, he's Slushy.

You see, when I was little, Slushy never left my side. I carried that stuffed animal dog everywhere with me. I played with Slushy. I slept with Slushy in my arms at bedtime. I ate, drank, used the restroom, went out to play on the swingset....Slushy came with me. I had that stuffed animal from Grandma for years until one day he disappeared. Never knew what happened to Slushy but I cried when he was gone. Grandma passed away years later. I cried then too.

Years went by.

I grew up. I went to college. I joined the workforce and traveled to Germany to live and Virginia with the military. I married and divorced and then remarried. And then somewhere again, along the way at this little PetSmart, I was reunited again with a life size version of the Slushy I held so dear. I was going through some life struggles too as we adults do and it seemed he showed up just in the nick of time, just when I would need him the most.

I write this story as Slushy lays on the floor on a little dog bed next to me. I've had Slushy as my sidekick and best friend now for 5 some years. We are inseparable. He cheers me up always after a hard day at work. He greats me with a gently lick on my hand and he loves being petted.

I take naps beside Slushy. He sleeps with his paws on me at night. He wags his tail all the time. We moved to Vermont. It is very cold here. I look out for him as he goes near the woods in the snow. Meanwhile, when my husband goes on business trips, he keeps me company and watches out for me. He's become my silent guardian. He follows me everywhere and I am constantly aware of where he is.

He's my best friend. My Slushy.

How is it possible that I would meet up again with a dog that was the spitting image of my childhood best friend? How could that dog have the exact same name?

Fate. Destiny. Whatever you call it. Maybe God just likes to surprise us with unusual coincidences. Whatever the reason....he's my guardian and he's my best friend. He walks beside me and I walk beside him. We'll be there to the end for each other, whether that end comes for him or me first.